You're right, Malachi, but let's not get side-tracked by this "artificial" tag. How much of our culture(s) is made of stuff that is totally un-artificial? Do we reject houses, cars, glasses, computers, false teeth, hearing aids, aeroplanes for being "artificial"?The simple truth is that Esperanto works for the purpose for which it was intended - i.e. as a bridge language between people of disparate linguistic backgrounds. As a spin-off from that, there's a whole Esperanto subculture, which most cynics refuse to acknowledge. What I say is: Don't deny it - Just try it! (Full disclosure - I've been an Esperantist since 1966 or thereabouts.

I completely agree. I don't think Esperanto should be embraced or discounted due to its artificiality. Any language that's been standardized is, in a sense, artificial. And if something artificial is something man-made, EVERY language is artificial! So that's completely a non-argument either way, in my opinion. Esperanto should be judged on its own merits.

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ITCHY FEET is the weekly web comic about travel, life in foreign countries, and learning new languages. Readers can expect an astonishing array of exaggerated facial expressions, humorous situations involving foreigners and foreign lands, and ordinary silliness.